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Top tips for youth ministry in 2024, with Dave Phillips

PYNSW General Manager, Dave Phillips, has been working in, with, and around youth ministry for over 25 years. He is passionate about seeing many young people come to know and love Jesus for themselves. 

“I’m truly grateful for the effort that was invested into me when I was a teenager, and so it’s a real privilege to help churches navigate the challenges involved in discipling young people.” 

A big part of Dave’s role at PYNSW is meeting with youth ministers and leaders from all around the state to hear about what is going on in their respective contexts and providing advice where possible. As a result, Dave has identified some of the key challenges and areas for growth in youth ministry that many are facing across various contexts.

1. Helping people with the distractions of smartphones 

What to do with smartphones and teenagers… It’s the question that everyone seems to be asking. Where is the line between helpful and unhelpful, healthy and unhealthy, “just checking that one thing” and addiction.

Statistics tell us that 85% of teens claim it can be difficult to stop using technology, such as the internet and smartphones, once they’ve started using it.

As the big C Church, we have a responsibility to consider our role in helping love and care for our teenagers and the issues that are facing them.

Here are some suggestions…

  • During a youth group night, having a phone jail or phone hotel (whether you want to frame it positively or negatively) can help with creating time away from devices. The goal is that they look forward to a break from their phones while at youth group or in key parts of youth group.
  • Do you have printed Bibles and copies of the Bible study so that people don’t feel that they need to have their devices on-hand to be able to participate?
  • Make sure you’re modelling phone usage well yourself! Do you need to…
    • Remove apps from your phone?
    • Use a service like Opal to limit access to apps at different times of day, or put your phone into parent/child mode so only a trusted friend can give you access to the apps with which you’re struggling?
    • Install a service like Covenant Eyes?
    • Find someone to be accountable to in your own struggle with digital distraction?

Ultimately, we want to think about how we can help the teenagers in our care to have a greater desire to grow their relationship with God than anything else, particularly their profile on social media. 

2. Connecting well with people who are neurodiverse

Neurodiversity is an important concept that is rightly gaining more and more attention in society. Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and Tourette syndrome, are not a disorder or a disability, but rather a unique way of thinking and perceiving the world.

15-20% of the world’s population exhibits some form of neurodivergence, driven by both genetic and environmental factors.

The evidence suggests that recognition and acknowledgement of neurodiversity will only continue to grow. Therefore, it is critical that we recognise and consider the needs of neurodiverse individuals, seeking to create welcoming and inclusive spaces that allow us to connect well.

Here are some suggestions…

  • Understand the specific needs of your group. This might look like talking to parents. Or maybe attending some training to upskill in understanding the different needs of neurodiverse individuals.
  • Gather your youth leadership team all together to discuss and brainstorm ideas for how you can connect well with people who are neurodiverse.
  • Consider the physical space for the youth group. For example, think about how you can provide a quiet room where anyone feeling overwhelmed can recover for a while before joining the group again.

Knowing that one size doesn’t fit all, we want to work hard to think about what might work for each person. The goal is for all to feel welcomed, valued and understood.

3. Integration with other ministries at church so youth are connected well

In Matthew 19:14 Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

The gospel is for all generations, for all ages, for all time. Does the way that we do church reflect this? 

Here are some suggestions…

  • Talk to your church leadership about how it might be possible to adapt the church service so youth and youth leaders can be more involved. For example…
    • Music
    • Bible reading
    • Praying
    • Some kind of youth ministry spot
    • Service leading
    • Setup and/or pack-up
    • Welcoming (there may be some behind-the-scenes considerations here)
  • Is it possible to have a service, say, once per term, where the youth have more input and ownership, and where non-Christian parents of youth would be able to attend, hear the gospel, and meet other Christians?
  • Create activities where people from the church can attend and participate in the youth group. For example, having youth group grandparents, bringing parents in to run dinner/supper, or clean up after dinner/supper.
  • Run a fundraiser at church to help subsidise the cost of sending youth to camps and conferences. Check out some further tips on this here.

We need to work hard to integrate our young people into our church life so that they feel welcomed, appreciated, and connected.

Final words

Whether your church has a large or a small youth group, or you’re not sure how to get started, please feel free to reach out to us at PYNSW, we’d love to hear from you.

Please also be in prayer for our youth leaders around the state as they seek to disciple young people week by week.

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